Valorous
by katelisalyn
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Sayra and her dragon, Beruus, are one of Eragon's best Rider and dragon pairs on his island. The two are chosen as masters of a new Rider and his dragon, which makes everyone else on the island jealous, including their longtime friends Lucas and his dragon Halcyon. Sayra is forced to figure out who she loves more: her status, her dragon, or Lucas.
1. Chapter 1

Bright light shines through the windows, waking me from rest. I yawn and stretch, pushing my arms above my head. Crawling out of my thick, warm sheets, I go to the closet and retrieve my clothes, the ones I wear almost every day. Brown trousers, a long-sleeved tan shirt, brown boots, my brown belt with its burgundy sword dangling from it, and a dark cloak. My brown hair tumbles in waves down my spine, so I brush it and braid it back quickly. Beruus, my burgundy-scaled dragon of three years, stirs on his dais. Just as I'm pulling on my gloves, he hums.

_Morning, little one. _He says. He yawns, exposing his rows of sharp teeth.

_Morning, Beruus. _I reply, going over and scratching behind his jaw. His humming continues to increase in amount until the entire room is filled with the sound. When I stop, he nudges me. I laugh.

_Last time I checked, you weren't a kitten, Ber. Come on, let's go eat. _I say. He nods, and we leave our large sleeping room.

Arriving in the dining hall big enough for ten farmhouses to fit inside, we are greeted by many dragons and their Riders around the table, the dragons of every color you could think of. Eragon and Saphira, his blue-scaled dragon, sit at the head, and I can tell that they are talking amongst themselves in the privacy of their minds. Beruus and I walk over to them, and as I bow, Beruus lowers his head in reverence.

"Sayra." Eragon says, tilting his head to me.

"Good morning, masters. What do you have planned for us today?" I ask, standing up straight. Eragon chuckles. As far as masters go, he is by far my favorite. Even though he is only five years older than me, he at twenty-two and I at seventeen, he is a great teacher, and taught me almost everything I know.

Saphira's mind brushes over mine, and her rough voice enters it.

_Eat, both of you, and you will see later. _She says.

_Yes, Master. _Both Beruus and I answer her, and she nods to us. We bow again and turn, making our way to our seats. I sit in my high-backed wooden chair, and Beruus takes his place next to me, sitting on the ground. A server brings me my full plate of fruits, vegetables and grains, while two servers bring Beruus a platter with a roasted pig. He hums at the sight of food, and begins to dig in. I follow suit, filling my hungry stomach until I can consume no more. When I'm finished, I push my plate away. Beruus does the same, and I stand.

"Ebrithil," I ask, getting Eragon's attention, "shall we go to the Clearing?"

"Yes, that would be wise." He replies, nodding his head. "You both are excused." I nod, and with Beruus at my side, we leave the dining hall.

When we reach the Clearing, which is a large space outside of the building we are all housed in, we are both silent. I slide off the saddle on Beruus' back, and land, my boots the only sound on the hard-packed earth. I slip my sword into my palm and practice multiple moves I learned from my instructor. Just as I am about to thrust it into an invisible enemy, a shadow forms overhead and Saphira lands next to Beruus, closing her wings. She tilts her head back to look at Eragon as he loosens the straps holding his legs on the saddle and slips off.

"Sayra. Beruus. Nice to see you two again."

"It is good to see you as well, Master." I say, sliding my sword back in its sheath. Beruus interrupts me by saying:

_What do you have planned for us to do today? You haven't told us yet. _

_Have patience, little one. _Saphira hums, leaning down her head and opening her massive maw to breathe over my dragon. He stands under her jaws, and I notice-with some fear, I must admit-that one of her teeth is almost longer than Beruus' own mouth.

"Well, we have decided that today, and until the final stages of your training, Saphira and I will train the two of you. Alone." Eragon says, crossing his arms over his armor-covered chest.

"What?" I ask, stepping forward indignantly. "Master, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why? Why are we suddenly so special?" I think immediately of my closest Rider friend here, a boy a year older than me named Lucas, and his golden male dragon called Halcyon, who I have always looked up to and thought of as a better Rider pair than Beruus and I.

_Don't worry about Halcyon and Lucas, little one. _Beruus' voice ripples through my mind, causing me to relax. _Eragon and Saphira _**_must _**_have chosen us for a very special purpose. They both emanate thoughts of good, and kindness. They chose us on purpose, Sayra. _

_What if what they have planned for us is something we can't do on our own?_

_If you think about it, there is nothing we can't do. Well, _and Beruus chuckles. _Chriis and Leand, _he mentions the Rider pair, of a 14-year-old human and his silver dragon, who have only been bonded for a year and hardly know anything about each other, _they have a lot of work to do. We've been together two years their senior. We will be fine. I promise. _I reach up and scratch under Beruus' jaw, thanking him quietly.

"I'm sorry for spouting, Masters. What is it that you have planned?" I say softly, knowing that Eragon will be able to hear me just fine.

"More sword training, more magic lessons, more flight lessons, more training you two to be a better bond, there are many things that we plan to do. _If _you are willing to do them." He responds, reaching up and putting his hand on the side of Saphira's jaw. "You two are very special, and you have a lot of potential. It would be a waste to put such talent down the drain."

"Yes, Master." Beruus and I say at exactly the same time. "We understand."

_Good. _Saphira hums. _Very good. Beruus, you will come with me for an hour, and Sayra, you will stay here with Eragon. After an hour, we will switch._

"Yes, Master." Beruus and I say at the same time again.

"Good." Eragon says. "Say your goodbyes for now." I reach up and scratch Beruus' jaw again. Suddenly, I don't want to leave him.

_Little one. _Beruus says. _I will be fine. Don't worry. It's just an hour. Remember, Master said it's not more important how we work together, it's how we work apart. _I nod, leaning my head against his scales.

_Goodbye, Ber. _

_Goodbye, little one. _Beruus opens his wings, and as he takes off with Saphira, he sends me a last thought. _Good luck. _

"Okay." Eragon says, startling me. "Let us begin. Show me what you can do with your blade." As he takes Brisingr out of it's sheath, and as I take Esterni-or good fortune in the Ancient Language-out of my own, I have a feeling that I'm going to regret everything I'm about to do in this hour of alone time with Eragon in training.


	2. Chapter 2

When the hour is over, and Eragon can sense the two dragons getting closer, my arm aches. My fingers have blisters, and my gedwëy ignasia hurts, even though I haven't tapped into my magic source in several days.

"Heal your blisters." Eragon says, sitting on a log and inspecting his sword from hilt to tip.

"Yes, Master." I say. I sit on the log next to him and open my mind. I whisper the words of healing, and in the span of several seconds, my blisters are healed. At the start of magic training, three years ago, I couldn't heal a bruise without feeling faint. Now, the only thing that makes me faint is healing a very badly broken leg, which I suffered after falling out of a tree a couple of months ago. I set the bone and healed it on my own, but the flesh and skin was almost impossible. Beruus gave me some of his energy, and when I finished healing my leg, I leaned against the scales of Beruus' belly and panted for half an hour. Beruus was kind enough to give me my water skin and some bread from his saddle bags, but even after eating I couldn't move.

Now, I can heal almost anything or anyone. I can't bring a person back from the dead, or heal someone who's dying already, but I can accomplish more than I ever have before.

_Sayra….turn around. _Beruus' voice interrupts my memory, and I do, almost leaping off the log with a start. Beruus' face is right behind me, and his breath makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I can't help but smile at my dragon.

_Beruus! You're back! _I say, wrapping my arms around his neck.

_Yes, I'm back. _He chuckles. _But, be careful. I'm achy all over. _

_What did Saphira make you do? _I ask, and he goes into great detail about what happened today for him, and I tell him what Eragon made me go through while he was away. I show him a large bruise on my ribs where Eragon 'accidentally' thrusted there. We guarded our blades with magic before continuing, of course, but that doesn't mean that they can't inflict a bruise or cut. Eragon has some bruises as well, but I'm not as strong or as agile as he is, being almost half-elf, and all.

"Sayra? Do you and Beruus want to tell us what the other did today?" Eragon asks, rubbing his gloved hands together. It's easy for us both to relay the information, and both our masters nod in pleasure.

"Good." Says Eragon, standing up. "Very good. Now, go off and fly around the island for a little while. Come back to your room when you are done, and Sayra, I'll have a surprise for you." I smile and nod, standing up as well. Eragon walks over to Saphira and deftly climbs onto her back, fastening his legs in and holding on tight. He waves to us as Saphira opens her wings, heaves her massive bulk off the ground, and flies away. I wave back, and Beruus roars at them. As Saphira goes further away, I can hear her roar in return. Sighing, I lean against Beruus' side.

_So, should we go for a fly? _I ask him, cracking my knuckles without looking. One of my old sword masters told me knuckle-cracking caused an expert swordsman to become a mediocre one once he got older, but I had waved away the warnings. I didn't believe him.

_I thought you'd never ask. Yes, we shall, but not right away. _Beruus replies, looking up at the afternoon sky.

_Why do you need to wait? _I ask, putting my hand on Esterni's hilt. _Is something wrong?_

_No, little one. It's just...I called upon an old friend to join us on our fly. _Beruus sends me a mental image of Lucas and Halcyon flying together. I inwardly celebrate. Lucas and I have been close ever since we became Riders at about the same time. He was in my league, and I'd been partners with him in sword-fighting and things of that nature. His dragon, Halcyon, befriended Beruus even before he could speak, and they sent mental images back and forth to each other as hatchlings. Now, they're inseparable, as am Lucas and I. We tell each other everything, and we know everything about each other. It's great having a relationship like that next to Beruus, but Beruss and I's relationship is much stronger because it's not only physical, but also mental. We know each other through and through, which is rare for a dragon and Rider of our ages.

_Sayra, they approach. _Beruus says. I look up, and see sunlight glint off of a long, golden speck in the sky. It takes me a few minutes to recognize Halcyon, but once I do, they are already close enough for me to see everything. When Halcyon lands next to Beruus, and Lucas hops off his shoulder, I walk to them. Lucas, with his black hair and blue eyes, is hard to miss here. I know he has attracted several female Riders around our age, but he sweeps their inquiries aside.

"Sayra!" He says, walking over to me and embracing me. His golden sword, Celöbra-or honor in the Ancient Language-hits me in my bruised side when he wraps his arms around me, and I gasp in pain, staggering back. His face shows confusion and sadness when I walk backwards, but when he sees my face, his eyebrows shoot up. "I know that look. What happened? Who hurt you?"

"Eragon." I say. I really don't want to lie to him, but I feel if I tell him I'm Eragon's 'new favorite', then he'll feel excluded, and possibly start an argument, which would be our first. "He just wanted to go over some things with me."

"Oh." Lucas says, shrugging. "He's a strong man, he is." I laugh, stepping an inch backward and grabbing tenderly to Esterni's hilt again. My sword has a presence of safety, and I grab it whenever I feel nervous. I don't know why I'd be nervous right now with Lucas, as he's one of the only people who makes me feel safe, and wanted. On the island, which Eragon calls: Eldilian-or Happiness-bringer in the Ancient Language-many of the people, mostly girls, have stayed away from me. I don't know what their deal is, but whenever I try to mingle with girls my age, or sword-fight with them, they don't talk to me or make eye contact with me. With the exception of one girl, called Aöla who has been friends with me since day one and is the nicest person I've ever met, and Lucas, I tend to stay on my own when around the human race. I'm popular amongst the dragons, though, as is Beruus. I have heard many female dragons say they want him to be the father of any offspring they have in the near future, but Beruus tends to ignore their pleas for affection. He's told me many times that I, and Aöla and her orange-scaled dragon so properly named Infernya, are the only females he wants to be around. I note that he is having a descriptive mental-picture conversation with Halcyon, and they slap their tales on the ground sometimes between points. Chuckling, I look back over at Lucas, who is watching the dragons as well.

"So," I say, letting go of Esterni and folding my hands together. "you ready?" Lucas nods, smiling. We walk over to the dragons, and Beruus turns his head to me, his eyes alight with happiness. I smile, grabbing onto the handholds, and pull myself up onto his back. Strapping my legs in, I wiggle my sword out and make sure its loose enough for pulling out in an emergency. I see Lucas mounting on Halcyon's saddle, and doing the same.

"Ready?" He yells. I nod, and both our dragons open their wings and take off into the sky. I laugh as a wind current swoops around me, and I tilt my head and body back as Beruus gains altitude. When he's high enough, and when Halcyon is beside him, Beruus asks me:

_May we dance, partner-of-my-mind-and-heart? _

_We shall. _

Our minds begin to mix and mingle, until my body seems to be floating behind me and I'm seeing everything through Beruus' eyes. The colors are different that if I'd be seeing them, and it's such a surreal experience. We have done this only three times before this, and each time is better than the last. As he swoops and soars, he opens his mouth, and with our combined strength, lets out a roar loud and broad enough to scare the feathers off a crow. We are of one mind.

One body.

One being.

And I always want it to stay this way.

Forever.

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